The sweetness enhancers used herein are known as natural and artificial sweeteners, however, they are used herein in a much lower concentration near their sweetness detection threshold.
These sweetness enhancers include Naringin dihydrochalcone (NarDHC), mogroside V or swingle extract comprising mogroside V, rubusoside or rubus extract comprising rubusoside, stevioside, and rebaudioside A.
Naringin dihydrochalcone has been used as a sweetener in concentrations well above its sweetness detection level. It has also been used in combination with stevioside to reduce the off-note of stevioside (JP10276712).
Swingle (also known as Lou Han Gou (LHG)) contains various naturally-derived terpene glycosides, in particular various mogrosides including mogroside IV, mogroside V, siamenoside I, and 11-oxo mogroside V. A swingle/LHG juice based sweetening system that provides a reduced sweet or unpleasant aftertaste is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,433,965 and WO 94/18855 by Fischer et al.
Rubus extract contains rubusoside and is used at a concentration well above its sweetness detection level as a sweetener and in combination with sugars. Sweetener compositions of various terpene glycosides including mogrosides and rubusoside at 0.1% to 10% by weight (1,000 ppm-100,000 ppm) are disclosed in US20020132037.
The sweet terpene glycoside stevioside and rebaudioside A have been used in mixtures with sugars including sucrose at above sweetness detection threshold (Schiffman et al., Chem. Senses 2000, 131-140, Schiffman et al., Brain Res. Bull., 1995, 105-120, Schiffman et al., Food Qual. And Pref. 2006 (internet pre-publication)).
Applicant has found that certain known sweeteners, namely mogroside V/swingle extract, rubusoside/rubus extract, and naringin dihydrochalcone (NarDHC), are sweetness enhancers and can be used in a low concentration near their sweetness detection threshold in combination with certain sweeteners, including certain artificial sweeteners, including in particular the sugars sucrose, fructose, glucose, high fructose corn syrup (containing fructose and glucose), xylose, arabinose, and rhamnose, the sugar alcohols erythritol, xylitol, mannitol, sorbitol, and inositol, and the artificial sweeteners AceK, aspartame, neotame, sucralose, and saccharine, to enhance the sweetness of said sweeteners.
None of these sweetness enhancers has been previously used near its sweetness detection threshold, alone or in combination, to enhance the sweetness of the above-mentioned sweeteners.